Integrative Health Program
Complementary + conventional care
WELLNESS TOOLS IN TURBULENT TIMES
It is more important now than ever, to lean on tools to build well-being and stress resilience. We welcome patients and staff to nurture themselves with this collection of self-care tools.
INSTANT CALM
Mindful Movement Exercises
Take a few minutes to notice and slow your breath, move, and release tension.
Try now: Inhale and count to 4, and Exhale and count to 8. Repeat 3 times. How do you feel? Repeat this often, when you feel stress, and to help you sleep
- Yoga for Neck and Shoulders (20 min): Video
- Take a Yoga Break at Work (13 min) : Video
- (Gentle) Yoga for a Supple and Strong Back (45 min): Video
- Relaxing Breath Practice (3 minutes): Audio | Jodi Barry, yoga therapist
- Mindful Breathing Break (6 minutes): Video | Suzanne Drolet, yoga therapist
- Gentle Neck Soother (9 minutes): Video | Suzanne Drolet, yoga therapist
- 4-7-8 Breath (3 minutes): Video
- Butterfly Hold Hug for Self-Soothing (8 minutes): Video
- Relax and Unwind Before Bed (27 min): Video
- 2-Minute Mindful Break (2 min): Video
- Quick Energizer (4 min): Video
- Kitchen Yoga: Quick stretches at the countertop! (8 min): Video
- Yoga for Neck & Shoulders (Posture, too!) (12 min): Video
- Neck & Shoulder Class with Self-Massage (30 min): Video
- Short and Sweet (full mat) class (15 min): Video
- East into Your Morning (25 min): Video
- Wellness Wednesday Gentle Yoga (Beginner's Mind, with meditation) (57 min video)
- Wellness Wednesday Gentle Yoga (Cross-crawl practice, with meditation) (52 min video)
- Wellness Wednesday Gentle Yoga (Neck and Shoulders) (50 min video)
Wellness Wednesdays Zoom Yoga sessions: Gentle Yoga & Neck/Shoulder Relaxation – 30 minute videos, Jodi Barry & Suzanne Drolet, yoga therapists”
EXPRESSSING GRATITUDE
Take a moment to interrupt stress and anxiety, with gratitude. What are you grateful for?
GET OUTDOORS
Fresh air, sun and nature are mood boosters.
CONNECT WITH OTHERS
Stay connected with family and old and new friends by phone, video chat, texting, social media, writing letters.
TAKE MEDIA BREAKS
Take breaks from reading, listening, or watching current news, including social media. Do something that brings you joy instead.
BUILDING HEALTHY HABITS
Building these healthy habits slowly over time will keep your mind and body healthy!
- Healthy Eating: “Eat food, mostly plants, and not too much.” - Michael Pollen
Healthy eating is a lifestyle that takes time to build. Start with eating more fruits and vegetables, the more colors of the rainbow the better, and adding good proteins and good fats to your diet. - Healthy Eating Tips from the CDC
- Healthy Plate from Harvard
- Eating Healthy on a Budget: Recipes, Meal Plans, Nutrition Courses, CalFresh sign-up
- Nutrition Basics for Everyone (Dr. Mark Hyman)
- Regular Movement:
Find some regular movement that you enjoy. Exercise helps to relieve stress and improve mood and sleep. This site lists free online exercise, yoga, and dance classes: CLICK HERE - Regular Sleep:
Adequate rest is key to maintaining a healthy immune system. Click here for sleeping tips and daily meditation practices for improving rest and sleep from Kaiser.
Yoga for Stress Resilience (15 minutes):
15 Minute Mindful Movement Sequence for Stress Resilience | Spanish video
OUR VISION
Patients and staff will achieve optimal health through health restoration, self-care and prevention.
OUR MISSION
To expand integrative health services for patients and staff, through a collaboration of departments at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center & Health Centers. Integrative Health services are defined as all tools that are safe, effective, and low or no cost.
KEY TENETS
- Health Restoration, rather than disease elimination
- Whole person health: mind, body, spirit
- Self-care
- Prevention
- Therapeutic Partnerships among patient, family, health team, and community
OUR SERVICES
- Acupuncture
- Chiropractic
- Integrative Medicine Consult Clinic
- Mindful Movement Groups (Yoga)
- 15 minute Mindful Movement Video | Spanish
- Food as Medicine (CalFresh, Free Produce, Nutrition Education)
- Parks Prescriptions
BACKGROUND
80% of the U.S. healthcare budget is spent on preventable chronic diseases. Addressing lifestyle factors, including nutrition and food security, physical activity, and chronic stress are key to preventing and reversing many of these chronic diseases. Integrative Health is a movement that focuses on these lifestyle factors as keys to health restoration. This movement may be vital to reducing healthcare costs, and improving both patient and provider wellness and satisfaction.
Integrative Health and Medicine is now an international movement, in which national and international organizations exist including Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine; Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine & Health. NCCIH, is a department at the NIH has been dedicated to research and education. In addition, Integrative Medicine education in residency is now part of over 60 primary care residency programs nationwide.
There is now an organization solely dedicated to the promotion and practice of Integrative Medicine in underserved and vulnerable populations: Integrative Medicine for Underserved. The movement of Integrative Medicine is indeed growing, and we envision that eventually Integrative Health and Medicine will just be "good" Health and Medicine.